Over 11,000 people waited for hospital beds in January say nurses

Over 11,000 people waited for hospital beds in the first month of 2023. 

That's according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation’s (INMO) TrolleyWatch figures, which revealed a total of 11,289 admitted patients waited on trolleys in wards and in emergency departments in January. 

University Hospital Limerick was the most overcrowded hospital nationwide with 1180 patients waiting for beds, followed by Cork University Hospital (1145 patients), University Hospital Galway (728 patients), Letterkenny University Hospital (650 patients), and St Vincent's University Hospital (594 patients). 

INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said, "A lack of adequate planning has put unnecessary stress on nurses and the patients they are trying to provide care for throughout the month of January. The number of patients on trolleys in wards outside our emergency departments have been unacceptably high. This practice should not be allowed to continue as a measure to try take pressure off our emergency departments.

"According to two recent opinion polls, over 75% of people would not visit an Emergency Department. The strategy of telling people to not attend hospital will have knock-on effects across the health service for months to come.

"We cannot continue to accept the wait until things get unbearably bad approach before an attempt is made to lessen the pressure on our public hospital system. Nurses and their patients deserve better than this.” 

According to the monthly figures released today, January 2023 is the third worst month for overcrowding since 2006, surpassed only by January 2020 (12,024 patients) and January 2018 (12,395). 

January 2021 was revealed as the best month on record for overcrowding with a total of 3,715 patients waiting for beds.